What I Learned in July
(I would be interested to hear what you have learned in July)
- I thought I was good at adapting to change, but I am learning that I have difficulty when I’m not sure the change will end and become permanence.
- Leadership is no longer about just return on investment. It’s now about investment in the betterment of society….and that is a tall order.
- For any and all decisions, I must consider the impact of that decision on multiple people in my life.
- If my old school classmates are looking old, how is it that I cannot possibly look like that myself?
- I thought I understood racism, but I have learned my understanding is outdated and incomplete.
- I thought I understood how difficult it is to be disabled but my own personal restrictions (from glaucoma and a neuromuscular injury to my leg) are teaching me how insensitive I have been to the challenges of the disabled.
- Today for CEO’s, their responsibility goes way beyond shareholder value. It now must include responsibility to their workers, their community, their country….and their planet.
- Tech Leadership must go beyond technical skills and include emotional intelligence skills: understanding and managing self, understanding and managing others.
- It’s harder to manage my temper than I want to accept. I have to learn to let go – tell myself it’s small stuff.
- I am so proud that Pat and I have thrived in a 50-year marriage. 50 years together is worth a big celebration. From two, we have grown to six and counting.
- “Peace in every moment” is a worthwhile goal.
- Keeping everything in one notebook is a good way to cope with attention deficit disorder.
- Complaining is best put off until tomorrow (or mañana).
- You may be investing in change, but there will always be those around you who will be resistant.
- (For white folks) Can you think of a specific way you have benefitted from white privilege?
- A dream come true (sort of): I was picked up by two beautiful women in bikinis on the beach – unfortunately it was after I had fallen and they were 2 emergency room nurses on vacation who saw me fall and rushed to pick me up and be sure I had not hurt myself. Luckily, only my pride was wounded.
- During the coronavirus crisis, as usual in our society, women are more likely to carry the major responsibility for taking care of the children. It is better than before: In many families, men are stepping up, but it is still more common for the mother to be the one in charge of child care and education. Men: It’s time to step up.
- When do we get to the point in life, when we have nothing left to prove? I am not there yet.
- The coronavirus is proof of system theory: we are all connected – what impacts one, impacts all.
- While society’s problems may seem bigger than ever, I still look to each day and ask myself what is needed and what can I do to help…and how do I find more time to just hang out with my granddaughters on a swing.